The Democratic Party of Korea on July 17 granted exceptional candidate qualifications to Song Young-gil, a lawmaker, and Kim Yong, former deputy head of the Democratic Research Institute, who announced their candidacies for party leader and supreme council member, respectively. The party held a series of meetings, including a supreme council meeting and a party affairs committee meeting, to finalize the decision.
Kang Jun-hyun, the party's chief spokesperson, told reporters at the National Assembly, "The party rules specify that the eligibility for candidates for party leader and supreme council members can be determined differently through a decision by the party affairs committee," adding that the committee approved the exception for the two candidates.
According to the party's regulations, eligibility to run for office is granted only to party members who have joined at least six months prior to the exercise of their rights and have paid party dues at least six times within the year preceding that date.
Song, who left the party in 2023 amid allegations of distributing money envelopes, returned to the party in February after a court acquitted him, but he has not yet completed six months since his reinstatement.
Kim, on the other hand, reportedly failed to meet the party dues requirement due to account freezes while serving a prison sentence for receiving money from private developers involved in the Daejang-dong development scandal.
The Democratic Party's rules allow for exceptions to be recognized by the party affairs committee following a decision by the supreme council if significant reasons are acknowledged.
Following the supreme council's decision to recognize the candidacies of Song and Kim, members of the pro-Cheongrae faction expressed their discontent, calling it "excessive benefits."
In contrast, Song's camp stated after the party affairs committee's decision that "the rights of party members have been upheld," asserting that "today's decision is neither a privilege nor a favor, but a process handled according to party rules."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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